The Songbird Princess
by EmeraldScale
Summary: Elizabeta, a beautiful princess, is stuck with a curse. Each day, when dawn's rays touch the Earth, she is forced to become a small yellow songbird. Only when the sun goes down is she allowed to turn back into a human. And when a certain red-eyed prince finds her, how will he try to help break her curse? Based on Swan Lake.
1. The Curse

**Hello! EmeraldScale here! This is my first fanfic, so creative critisim is never looked down upon. I hope you enjoy! Also, this is based on the ballet **_**Swan Lake**_**. **

**Unfortunately, I do not own Hetalia or Swan Lake.**

In a far off country called Hungary, there was a kingdom. In that kingdom, there ruled a king and queen. They were fair and just rulers who loved their kingdom as much as their kingdom loved them.

The king and queen had many gifts and blessings bestowed upon them, but none so great as their daughter, Elizabeta. The kingdom came to love this girl, for she was kind to all and very beautiful. Her hair was like golden honey and her eyes sparkled like emeralds. Even at a young age, many men came from far and wide to see if one day, they could take her as their bride.

But one man did not like this girl. Nikolai, a powerful magiacian, was jealous of the girl, for his daughter, equal in beauty, was always shunned away. For his daughter, whose name was Erzsebet, was mean and cruel to all those she met. To get revenge on Elizabeta, he stole her away from her family and hid her deep in the bowels of an enchanted forest, where she could not escape.

When the kingdom found out about her disappearance, there was a clamorous uproar. Many searches were issued, but each one ended up as a failure. Days passed, then weeks, and the searching still continued. Not until those weeks turned into months did searching cease, and Elizabeta was forgotten, only remembered by pictures collecting dust.

When first in the forest, she was scared and cried for anyone to help her. She was also cursed to be a small yellow songbird each day, and could only assume her human form when the sun went down. She was never happy and she barely slept nor ate. Seeing as how life could not go on like this, she decided to summon up all of her bravery and went to search the forest.

Not long after, she stumbled upon a clearing. It had a small brook that flowed through the trees, and many low branched trees that rustled in the wind. She also found a trio of young girls, all around her age, except for a shy-looking girl who looked to be about seven. She introduced herself to them, finally glad to talk to someone besides herself. They all seemed kind, and when she got to know them better, they all became good friends. She learned that they were all locked away in this forest, and that they had been cursed, just as she had.

One of the girls, named Katyusha, was very kind, but very sensitive. She had short blonde hair and a fairly large chest. Nikolai had cursed this peasant girl because she had not let him come into her house when he wanted food. Each night, she turned into what Katyusha called a bluethroat songbird.

Lily, the shy, younger girl, was an heir to the throne of Liechtenstein. She had refused to give Nikolai power over an area of her home country, so she was forced to become what Elizabeta assumed was a dove, although it looked much smaller.

The last member of their group was Natalia. She seemed bitter and malicious, but if you weren't annoying her, she could be quite friendly. The reason she was cursed was the silliest of them all. In truth, Nikolai was scared of her. She was very powerful in her home country of Belarus, and she wasn't very friendly, either. She didn't deserve to be here, and it only made her angrier. Each night, she was turned into a ferocious-looking hawk. In truth, although they'd never tell her this, all the other girls were scared of her in the day, when she turned into a bird of prey.

The girls called their little group the Flock, considering that they all were birds. They each had their own nest in a big tree by the brook. Natalia, having had the longest time being a bird, taught all the other girls how to fly. They settled in as birds, their lives dull and boring. they never tried to go away from the forest, though, because they would get lost or caught. They all feared the world outside of their clearing, every shadow and noise a threat to them. Besides, even if they did get out, they couldn't live their lives as half birds.

Elizabeta spent ten years in the forest, and each night since she was fifteen, Nikolai had asked for her hand in marriage. Now eighteen, she was getting tired of his courting.

"How many times do I have to say no?!" she yelled at him.

Nikolai smiled. "Until you say yes," he answered.

Elizabeta glared coldly at the magician. He smiled back.

"Well, I've never going to marry you, so stop asking!" she screamed at him as she stormed away.

She climbed up into her tree so she wouldn't have to look at Nikolai's horrible face from across the clearing. Man, she hated that guy. Lily called up to her to see if she was alright, but Elizabeta didn't give a response. She was too angry. She just wanted to go home to a place that was fuzzy in her mind. She calmed herself down and got out of her tree when she had seen that Nikolai had left. She walked over to the other girls, where Lily was trying to braid Natalia's hair, much to her annoyance. She sat down next to Katyusha and watched Lily as she repeated the pattern for braids over and over again.

She soon got bored of this, so she laid on her back and glanced up at the stars. The moon washed her face in a silver light, and she longed for the rays of the sun to touch her face. She wanted so many things: her family, the sun, to get away from Nikolai; but those were just silly dreams that couldn't come true.

She sat up and started to talk to Katyusha. "When are we ever going to get out of he-"

Her sentence was cut short as she heard a noise coming from the direction of the brook. She told everyone to be quiet and started to walk towards the noise, her feet barely making a sound. She jumped back at what she saw.

**Yay! The first cliffhanger Any reviews are appreciated. Well, anything is nice, even if you just read it. I hope you enjoyed it! **

**EmeraldScale out!**


	2. The Prince

Hello, my people! I am back with another chapter of this story! Although, I have to warn you that my beta could not correct my grammar. So sorry for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy it as much or even more than the last chapter. Thanks for reading.

A pair of red eyes stared out the tent flap. The longing in them could set anyone to tears. They longed to see more than frilly gowns and golden crowns. They wanted adventure, but that just wasn't something that came easy to a prince.

Gilbert sighed and closed the tent flap, so as not to let the rain in. His teacher and "friend", Roderich, was sitting in a chair, reading a manuscript. Gilbert sat down next to him and started to play with a ribbon, watching it boredly as it bounced up and down.

Roderich put the manuscript down and looked over at his pupil. He started to watch the hypnotic motion of the ribbon, but got boredafter a couple of minutes. He waited for a while and then broke the silence as he cleared his throat. Gilbert looked over at him, his eyes dull and bored.

"So, how was today's courter?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Same as always," Gilbert mumbled, still absorbed with the piece of string.

"Hmmmm... I'm not sure your father will like that..." Roderich said.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I don't give a damn about what my father thinks. If I don't want to marry a woman I don't love, than I don't have to," he whispered sourly.

The tent was silent once more, if you don't count the rain pitter-patting on the canvas roof. The silence was interrupted by a large, wet man standing in the opened tent flap. He bowed and pulled out a slip of paper from a satchel that hung around his shoulder.

"A message for Prince Gilbert, from his father," the guard said.

Gilbert reached and held out his hand. The guard handed it to him, bowed, and exited back into the rain. Gilbert picked off the wax seal and opened the letter excitedly, hoping that his father would finally allow him to come home. His smile sunk into a frown as he read the letter. When he finished reading it, he crumpled it into a ball and threw it to the other side of the tent. Roderich gasped and ran over to the letter. He picked it up, uncrumpled it, and shook it to get the water and dirt off of it. His eyes scanned the letter quickly and he read it out loud to himself and Gilbert.

"My dear son, I can clearly see that you are getting no where in your love life, or anywhere in your life at all. You clearly don't want to work to find a bride. As a result of your laziness, I have decided to pick a bride for you. Please come back to the castle as soon as you possibly can. I hope you will enjoy her and I hope you have a safe trip home. Sincerly, King Alois," Roderich said, his voice faltering at the end. He stood there, mouth open in shock. Gilbert just gripped the arms of his chair in anger, his fingernails digging into the soft wood.

After a moment of silence, Gilbert got up from his chair. He stuck a dagger into his boot, put on a cloak, and headed for the tent flap.

"S-sire, where are you going?" Roderich asked, snapping out of his stupor.

Gilbert didn't answer him. He walked out into the cold rain and started to untie his horse. Roderich chased after him, using a book to sheild his face from the rain.

"Sire, you can't leave! We have to go home t-" His sentence was never finish. Gilbert pushed him down in the mud and got onto his horse. He kicked his heels into the horse's sides and the horse galloped away into the dark, leaving Roderich dumbfounded in a mud puddle.

~O~O~O~O~

Gilbert galloped along the road for a while. He slowed his horse to stop and waited to hear if anyone was following him. When he heard nothing, he started to trot down the road more. After about an hour of this, he could see a faint light in the road ahead. Scared it was a guard, he quickly gallopped off the road and into the forest. Everytime he looked back, he could still see the light, and he was forced to surge ahead. His horse jumped over fallen logs and pushed throught the thick foliage. A blast of lightning hit nearby and the horse, scared by the sudden flash of light and the loud boom, bucked Gilbert off. Gilbert sat in the mud as he watched his horse gallop off into the darkness. He swore under his breath and sat there for a while, thinking of what to do. He couldn't go home, but he couldn't stay here either. In the end, he decided to just walk around and see if he could find a peasant family he could stay with. But first, he had to get out of the forest.

He started to walk towards where he had seen his horse run, but soon realized that he didn't see any familiar landmarks. He punched a tree in his anger, only to hurt his hand in the process. He shook his hand to make the pain go away. By now, the rain had stopped and the moon peaked out from behind the trees. Gilbert felt like he had been walking for hours, and was relieved when he came across a brook. He fell to his knees and praised God for his luck. He cupped his hands and filled them with the cool liquid. He slurped it up, letting it flow down his throat. He looked up when he heard a noise. The leaves on the other side of the brook moved slightly. He pushed himself away from the water and went to check it out. Normally, he would just leave it alone, but he was in an unfamiliar forest, and he didn't know what could happen.

He jumped over the brook and peered through the foliage and leaves. He jumped back when he was staring at a pair of green eyes. He lost his footing and fell into the creek. He picked himself up and ran back to whewre the eyes were, but they weren't there anymore. He pulled his dagger from his boot and emerged from his side of the wall of foliage.

He was frozen by what he saw. He was face to face with a girl with green eyes, who he assumed was the person he had came face to face with earlier. She took a couple steps back, scared. He could now clearly see a moonlit clearing. He could see three more girls staring at him from the other edge of the clearing.

He turned his attention back to the other girl. For someone who seemed to live in this Godforsaken forest, she was very beautiful. Her light brown hair flowed down her shoulders like water, and her green eyes sparkled with curiosity and intelligence. He stared at her for a while, intrigued, but stopped when she started to cringe at his gaze. He looked down at the ground, embarressed. She still seemed scared, and Gilbert didn't know why. He then remembered that he still held his dagger in his hand. He slipped it back into his boot and put his hands above his head, showing that he wouldn't hurt anyone.

The girl stood back, still a little afraid. She slowly walked towards him. Soon, she was next to Gilbert. She stood there awkwardly, not sure of what to say.

"I-I'm Elizab-" She was interrupted by a fierce looking girl with long platinum blonde hair.

"Who are you and why are you here?" she asked, never faltering.

Gilbert was taken aback by her strict and straight-to-the-point tone of voice. It reminded him of his father and brother. His attitude turned sour.

"Why does it matter? I should be asking you the same question," he replied bitterly.

The girl glared at him with eyes that seemed to look through his soul. "Well, aren't you a conceited little brat? I live here, thank you, along with my friends," she said, motioning to the other girls.

Gilbert smirked at her. "You live here? Alone? In this forest? I don't think so," he said.

The girl grabbed his wrist and dug her fingernails into his veins. "You dare to doubt me?"

Gilbert winced in pain and choked back a gasp as he saw his blood peek out from behind the girl's fingernails.  
"I'm Gilbert, son of Aloisa, King of the Northern Lands," he said, all in one breath.

The girl squeezed harder. "I don't believe you," she hissed.

A small girl grabbed her hand away away from Gilbert.

"Natalia! Don't hurt him!" she said, her voice barely over a whisper.

The woman named Natalia let go and turned her back on the prince. "Fine, but when you're in trouble, don't come crying to me."

The fourth girl, a girl with short light blonde hair and a large chest, went over and started to talk with Natalia. The other two girls stood by Gilbert, who was checking his bloody wrist.

The brown haired girl put a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry about Natalia. She can be...fiesty sometimes."

"That's fine," Gilbert mumbled.

"Are you really a prince?" the little blonde haired girl asked him. He nodded his head, not really paying attention.

The two girls gasped. "Really?" the brown haired girl asked.

"Yes," he said, slowly nodding his head.

The two girls looked at each other and squeeled. Gilbert took a step back. The brown haired girl ran to Gilbert and hugged him. Gilbert was shocked and awkwardly hugged her back.

"I knew it! I knew someone would come!" she cried out.

Gilbert gave her a questioning look.

"We need you to-" A rustle could be heard in the bushes. All four girls turned a pale white. All of them except for the brown haired girl ran under the cover of the trees.

Gilbert looked up at the girl. Her smile had faded and her eyes contracted as she looked at the spot where the noise had come from. She grabbed his arm and started to pull him towards the brook.

"What are you doing?!" he asked. He wanted to see her more and get a better explanation.

"You need to leave! RIght now!" she whispered to him, her voice frantic.

"But why?" Gilbert pouted.

"Just go!" she said as she pushed him. The wet ground beneath him crumbled and he fell butt-first into the creek.

"At least let me know your name," he pleaded.

She sighed. "It's Princess Elizabeta. Now go!" he screamed at him.

Gilbert got back on his feet and started to run as fast as he could away from the clearing. After a thirty minutes of sprinting, his legs gave out and fatigue took over. He panted and sat there as he watched the sun come out. It's golden rays reminded him of Elizabeta's hair. A thought struck his mind like a gong.

Princess Elizabeta,

he thought. **_Princess_**_ Elizabeta._

As soon as he got his energy back, he would walk all the way back to his father's kingdom. he had something to tell him. But before that, he was going back to that clearing to see the girl he fell in love with.

And the second chapter is over! Sorry if all these chapters are short! They seem so long on paper! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Also, if you want to guess the signifigance of Elizabeta being the type of bird she is, go ahead. If you guess right, you win something! What could it be? Guess to find out!

Now, for those of you who are confused, here is a character list:

Elizabeta/Yellow Songbird : Hungary

Gilbert : Prussia

Natalia : Belarus

Katyusha : Ukraine

Lily : Liechtenstein

Roderich : Austria

Nikolai : Romania

Erzsebet : 2p!Hungary

Alois : Germania

I think that's all that I've mentioned so far...

If I skipped out, please tell me!

EmeraldScale out!


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